- NY: Nanotyrannus skeleton sells for $47.3 million in NYC auction
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The mounted skeleton of a newly-identified dinosaur once mistaken for a young Tyrannosaurus rex has sold at auction for a colossal $47.3m (£35.5m). Nicknamed Jodi, the roughly 10-foot-tall (3m) skeleton was auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York. The sale comes a year after researchers confirmed that the skeleton belongs to a distinct genus. The Late Cretaceous carnivore was expected to fetch at least $9m when it went under the hammer on Tuesday. The auction comes after Sotheby’s sold a Tyrannosaurus rex, dubbed Gus, for a record $50.1m in July. The sale has reignited debate in the scientific community over whether dinosaur remains should be sold privately or displayed publicly. Sotheby’s described Jodi as an ‘excellent exhibition-ready’ skeleton with about 191 fossil-bone elements and ‘a beautifully preserved, virtually complete skull’.” (10/27/26)
- Sales of US core capital goods rise in September; shipments accelerate
Source: The Globe and Mail [Canada]
“New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased in September and shipments of these products surged, suggesting business spending on equipment maintained a robust growth pace in the third quarter, though doubts are mounting over the huge cost of building out AI infrastructure. Non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 0.5 per cent last month after an unrevised 1.6-per-cent jump in August, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders would advance by 0.7 per cent.” (10/27/26)
- CA: Federal agents search Beverly Hills mansion in investigation of Swalwell
Source: SFGate
“Federal law enforcement agents searched a Beverly Hills home early Tuesday as part of an investigation into Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations, two people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. Agents searched the home of wealthy developer and Swalwell donor Stephen Cloobeck, where the ex-Congressman spent time before resigning from office in April, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. Swalwell [D-CA] has denied criminal wrongdoing. Messages seeking comment were left for Swalwell’s lawyer and for a lawyer who represented Cloobeck in another matter. Cloobeck, who founded the Diamond Resorts International timeshare company and ran last year for California governor, contributed more than $23,000 to Swalwell’s congressional campaigns since 2017, federal campaign finance records show. He told the New York Post in April that he cut ties with Swalwell as accusations against him mounted.” (10/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ap-sources-federal-agents-search-beverly-hills-22496771.php
- India: Court orders censorship of documentary on Modi, tycoon Adani
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A court in India has ordered the takedown of an online documentary posted by Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani of cronyism, after Adani Enterprises sued, calling it defamatory. Adani’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, told the High Court in the eastern city of Kolkata that the documentary, which garnered millions of views on social media in recent days, was riddled with false content and had prompted inquiries from some investors in the company, whom the court order did not name. The documentary ‘is not a news report or an account of proceedings. It is a dramatised narrative’, the court’s takedown order for YouTube, X and Meta Platforms issued late on Monday said.” (10/27/26)
- Norwegian, Finnish pols hold rare call with Putin
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The leaders of Finland and Norway have held a joint call with Vladimir Putin – a rare contact between the Russian president and European leaders. The aim was looking at ‘future negotiations to help to end the war’ in Ukraine, the offices of President Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said. Their initiative was not on behalf of ‘Europe as a whole’. After the call, Putin said ‘confrontational’ EU and Nato policies were prolonging the war which began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.” [editor’s note” My favorite rumor/meme is that Putin would negotiate Ukraine to peace if US would extradite Anthony Fauci to Russia to stand trial – SAT](10/27/26)
- Tanzania: Jailed Opposition Leader Begins Hunger Strike
Sourc: US News & World Report
“Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who was charged with treason last year, has started a hunger strike to protest his inability to access his lawyers, his party said. Lissu, who leads the CHADEMA opposition party and came second in the 2020 presidential election, began refusing food on Monday after his lawyers were denied entry to the prison where he is being held, party spokesperson Brenda Rupia wrote on X. … Lissu was charged with treason over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on the public to rebel and disrupt last year’s general election. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which his lawyer has said are politically motivated.” (10/27/26)
- Hunter Biden laptop issue resurfaces; judge scolds prosecutors over case against ex-FBI officials
Source: SFGate
“A federal judge on Tuesday scolded the Justice Department for its unorthodox handling of a criminal case against two former FBI officials accused of making false statements to Congress about their knowledge of a laptop the Justice Department says belonged to Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden. U.S. Magistrate Zia Faruqui struck from the record an amended criminal complaint filed in the middle of the night by the Justice Department that added a new obstruction charge against the two former officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides. Such charging documents require sign-off from a judge that probable cause exists that a crime was committed by a defendant, and this complaint lacked that. ‘It is not our court’s practice — and I think it is appropriately not our practice — that unsigned complaints are filed on the docket,’ Faruqui said.” (10/27/26)
- Australia: Judge rejects prisoner’s human rights challenge to Vegemite ban
Source: ABC News
“A prisoner on Monday lost his challenge to an Australian state’s ban on inmates eating Vegemite after he argued in court that withholding the polarizing yeast-based spread breached his human right to ‘enjoy his culture as an Australian.’ Andre McKechnie, 55, who is serving a life sentence for murder, took his battle for the salty, sticky, black-brown byproduct of brewing beer to the Supreme Court of the state of Victoria last year. … Justice Claire Harris accepted prison authorities’ refusal to allow McKechnie Vegemite ‘limited his cultural rights’ under the charter. But she found the ban was justified in meeting authorities’ goals of removing illicit drugs and alcohol from the prison system. … Prison officials testified at a trial in July that Vegemite had been banned throughout the state’s 12 prisons for the past 20 years because it could potentially impair sniffer dogs’ ability to detect narcotics and could be used to brew alcohol because of its yeast content.” (10/27/26)
- Brazil: Flávio Bolsonaro’s passports cancelled after he fails to surrender them
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Police in Brazil say they have cancelled the passports of the defeated right-wing presidential candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, after he failed to comply with an order to surrender the documents. On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to hand his passports over to police within 24 hours as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering, which he denies. At the time, Bolsonaro said he had no plans to leave the country, and insisted that he would stay in Brazil to lead the opposition to his left-wing rival, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. However, the deadline has passed without the senator surrendering the passports, prompting speculation he may have left the country. Federal officers are checking border crossings to establish if Bolsonaro may have travelled to neighbouring Argentina, according to a police source consulted by BBC News Brasil.” (10/27/26)
- Microsoft gives voluntary buyout offer to about 60,000 employees
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Microsoft said on Monday it is offering voluntary buyouts to many staff members as the technology giant looks to contain costs and help fund its massive AI investments. The offer was extended to about 60,000 employees according to Microsoft. The company had 223,000 full-time employees globally as of June 30, according to its annual filing, meaning more than a quarter of its global workforce would have received the buyout offer.” (10/26/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/microsoft-voluntary-buyout-9.7396520
- Waltz gets in shouting match with Cuban delegate at UN
Source: New York Post
“US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz got into a shouting match Tuesday with Cuba’s foreign minister on the floor of the UN’s General Assembly hall while detailing the communist regime’s ill-gotten wealth. The ambassador was calling attention to the ‘corrupt Cuban elites’, at one point displaying a photo of late dictator Fidel Castro wearing two Rolex watches worth around $40,000 in today’s money. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz shouts from the podium in the General Assembly hall. Waltz was detailing the communist regime’s real estate holdings at the UN. ‘According to the regime’s own statistics, that would pay for 55 years of an average Cuban wage,’ Waltz noted, before showing a photo of Miguel Díaz-Canel and saying, ‘It didn’t just start with Castro. This is the current Cuban president, also with a Rolex on.'” (10/27/26)
- CA: A “poison pill” could doom Proposition 40
Source: SFGate
“California’s billionaire tax proposal has become one of the midterm elections’ most controversial measures, with the entire country watching to see if California’s voters will approve an unprecedented tax on billionaires’ net worth. But before voters can actually say yes or no to the tax, they’ll have to figure out how to do it. Approving Proposition 40, the tax on billionaires, is surprisingly complicated because there are two other competing ballot measures that contain ‘poison pill’ language designed to cancel out Proposition 40. These other measures (Proposition 41 and Proposition 42) do not specifically say they are designed to kill the tax, and public polling shows that at least some voters who want to support the billionaire tax could be unknowingly planning to vote against it.” [editor’s note: Be thankful for small victories maybe – SAT] (10/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/prop40-billionaire-tax-poison-pill-22468923.php
- Sudan: Drone strike kills at least 21 and injures 40
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“At least 21 people have been killed and 40 others were wounded in a drone strike in Nyala, Darfur, the AFP news agency reported, citing a medical source and witnesses. A Nyala resident said that the attack took place at around 8pm (18:00 GMT) on Monday at a market in the north of the city – which serves as the de facto capital of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. … The Sudanese military, which has been at war with the RSF since April 2023, regularly strikes Nyala, where the RSF has declared an administration rivalling the military-backed, internationally recognised government in Khartoum. The RSF has in turn launched strikes targeting Khartoum’s airports, as well as dams and power stations in the government-controlled east.” (10/27/26)
- Colombia: Bomb blast near Venezuela border injures at least four police officers
Source: SFGate
“A bomb exploded Tuesday near a bridge that crosses Colombia’s border with Venezuela, injuring at least four police officers in the Colombian city of Cucuta, officials said. Norte de Santander provincial Gov. William Villamizar said on X that police were investigating who was responsible for the attack. The explosion was set off in front of the local branch of Colombia’s tax collection agency near the Francisco de Paula de Santander International bridge. Footage of the aftermath showed a truck and several motorcycles that were damaged by the blast. The attack comes as Colombia’s conservative government changes the nation’s security strategy and takes a more confrontational approach towards gangs and rebel groups.” (10/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/bomb-blast-near-colombia-s-border-with-22496999.php
- DC: Judge bars Trump regime from further tree-felling, closures, at golf course
Source: Politico
“A federal judge Monday night temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting down additional trees or closing down a public golf course that the president intends to upgrade to a championship-level course. Judge Ana Reyes, in a lengthy, cutting opinion, found that the president’s public statements were at odds with the administration’s assertions in court that the felling of more than 400 trees earlier this month was routine maintenance and not preparation for the president’s grand vision for East Potomac Golf Links. … A preservation group and two local residents asked the court to bar further tree cutting after theInterior Department earlier this month cut down more than 400 trees on short notice.” (10/26/26)
- The Longest Zero-Dollar Day
Well, the longest from here on out, anyway, unless this fundraiser lasts until after the winter solstice on December 21 (when the days stop shortening and start lengthening).
Our annual fundraiser total remains at $1,053.
Our goal is $5,503 — with supporter GL pledging to “match funds” for half of that once we’ve raised the first $2,751.50.
We’re a reader-supported publication.
You’re a reader. So …
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
… and have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Ukraine: Local ceasefire, brokered by Melania Trump, takes effect
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“A localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia took effect early Tuesday ahead of a humanitarian mission brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump, as missile attacks resumed in Kyiv. The local pause in fighting started at 3 a.m. to allow an aid mission into the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine later this week. According to her office, Melania Trump led talks with civilian negotiators from Russia and Ukraine after meeting with U.N. officials who briefed her on the situation in the town. … Up to 2,000 people are stranded in Oleshky with dwindling food and medicine. They are unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks in the area, according to the U.N.” (10/27/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/27/g-s1-150037/russia-ukraine-war
- Appeals court dismisses US DOJ’s request to force California regime to set aside ballots
Source: CBS News
“A federal appeals court on Monday dismissed the Justice Department’s effort to force California election officials to set aside thousands of ballots that the Trump administration claims may have been cast by alleged noncitizens. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said in a 2-1 decision that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal and granted a motion by the top elections official from Los Angeles County to dismiss the effort. The federal government, Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez said, failed to allow a federal district court ‘adequate opportunity’ to consider its request for temporary relief. Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented.” (10/26/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/appeals-court-dismisses-doj-trump-california-ballots/
- France: Regime Makes Concessions to Students, but Not Enough to Halt Protests
Source: New York Times
“The French government announced on Monday that it would phase out an unpopular online university admissions platform, a significant concession to high school students who have led a protest movement that has mushroomed into weeks of nationwide unrest. The measure, one of several announced by the education ministry, did not mollify the students. Leaders of high school and university student groups called on them to protest again on Oct. 31 and Nov. 5, even after meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and hearing the proposals.” (10/26/26)
- Israel: Polls open as Netanyahu faces tough test
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Voters in Israel are heading to the polls to elect 120 members of parliament, or the Knesset, in the first general vote since the October 2023 start of the genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s Likud Party and the far-right coalition it leads are facing off against an opposition bloc that includes the Yashar party, led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot.” (10/27/26)
- The good reasons and bad politics surrounding a third Trump impeachment
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jonah Goldberg“There’s a raging debate within the Democratic Party, mostly beneath the surface, about whether President Trump should be impeached for a third time. It’s relevant because the Democrats are almost guaranteed to win back the House, and therefore the power to impeach. But the debate isn’t over whether Trump has done anything impeachable. That question is settled: Of course he has. Democrats are debating whether it would be politically wise to stir up all the drama only to inevitably fail at securing the two-thirds vote requirement for conviction in the Senate. Spending the next two years on a failed impeachment wouldn’t fulfill their promises to deal with ‘affordability’ and the like. I don’t really care about the politics one way or another. But if Democrats decide to go down that path, Trump’s abuse of the pardon power would be a good place to start.” (10/27/26)
- It’s Open Season for Racism and Bigotry in the Republican Party This Midterm
Source: The UnPopulist
by Steve Chapman“Americans have come to expect hateful campaign rhetoric from Republican candidates and their proxies. Comments that once were off-limits to politicians are now standard fare. Donald Trump did more than anyone to normalize such vicious attacks, and his example continues to inspire imitation. The 2026 midterm elections have spawned a hurricane of extremist vitriol. Republicans used to rhapsodize about curbing federal deficits, minimizing government intervention in the economy, and standing for democracy around the world. But those themes are obsolete under Trump. Today, the GOP takes a distinctly different approach: vilifying one marginal and vulnerable group after another in an effort to provoke fear and anger among voters.” (10/27/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/its-open-season-for-racism-and-bigotry
- Will You Save Democracy?
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias“On the eve of elections in the United States, I never thought I’d be in the Alps for the first time. But this is where I am, and where I need to be – meeting with movement leaders from around the world at the Democracy Resilience Forum, a week of honest exchange between leaders from places where our right to vote is under attack. I am one of fifty leaders from five continents invited here by Salzburg Global, an organization born out of the ashes of World War II to help ‘open-minded leaders overcome barriers and open a world of possibilities’. This group helped rebuild Europe, then with the fall of the Berlin Wall, expanded their horizons around the globe.” [editor’s note: Posted merely to show how delusional progressive pundits are about the need for “demoncrazy” – SAT] (10/26/26)
- Upsides and Downsides to a Democratic Midterm Victory
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“The upside to a Democratic victory in the midterm elections is that a Congress that is controlled in one or both chambers by Democrats will likely be able to limit or impede at least some of President Trump’s authoritarian proclivities. Even just hitting Trump with investigations and possibly impeachment proceedings (e.g., for his drug-war assassinations and undeclared war of aggression against Iran) would inevitably distract him so that he would not be able to devote his entire time and efforts to doing bad things to people, including Americans. Coming to mind, of course, are his tariff (i.e., tax) spree and his initiation of deadly and destructive foreign interventions and wars, such as in Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. It is worth noting, however, that while a Democratic victory might restrain Trump, it would not restore a free and prosperous society to our land.” (10/27/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/10/27/upsides-and-downsides-to-a-democratic-midterm-victory/
- Steve Hilton has only good idea for California’s failed fake train dreams
Source: California Post
by staff“Steve Hilton is right: California’s high-speed rail project belongs in a museum, not on a map — and certainly not on the state’s budget. The ‘bullet train to nowhere’ was supposed to link San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours at a cost of $33 billion by 2020. Instead, it will only link a couple of towns in the Central Valley, at a cost of over $200 billion, by 2032 at the earliest. The Republican candidate for governor says he will end the project and ‘turn it into the Government Failures National Monument’. That might actually be a profitable idea. One can imagine something like the statue parks that sprang up in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism.” (10/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/10/26/opinion/steve-hilton-has-only-good-idea-for-failed-high-speed-rail/
- Canada Wants To Let Dementia Patients Consent to Euthanasia in Advance
Source: Reason
by Jeffrey A Singer“Patients diagnosed with progressive dementia may know exactly how much deterioration they are willing to endure. They can articulate their wishes, discuss alternatives, and put their instructions in writing. Should losing the ability to repeat those instructions invalidate them? Canada is preparing to address that question. On October 23, its Justice Department announced planned rules that would allow adults diagnosed with an incurable illness expected to destroy their decision-making capacity to consent in advance to assisted suicide (or, as Canada calls it, medical assistance in dying (MAID)). … Competent adults should be free to choose clinician-assisted suicide or clinician-administered euthanasia, provided they give fully informed, voluntary consent and those assisting them do so willingly. That freedom should include planning for the loss of decision-making capacity.” (10/27/26)
- On Google Killing 400,000 Trees To Build Data Centers In Finland
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“That story about Google killing hundreds of thousands of trees in Finland for its data center project is such a perfect microcosm of what capitalism is doing to our world. Recent mass media headlines are saying the tech giant ‘illegally’ cut down ‘250,000 trees’, but both claims paint an inaccurate picture of what actually happened. Google killed 400,000 trees (250,000 near a town called Muhos and another 150,000 near the village of Otanmäki), and unless the company’s executives actually wind up going to prison for this, their actions cannot properly be described as ‘illegal’. I don’t know who first coined the saying ‘If the penalty is a fine, then it’s legal for rich people’, but it certainly applies here.” (10/27/26)
- Shoppers Get a Vote—Homeowners Should, Too
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Scott Gilmer“This November, voters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, will decide whether to raise their city’s sales tax by half a cent. … Whatever you think of the proposal, don’t miss what is happening. Goodlettsville wants more of its taxpayers’ money, so it has to ask them first. That is how it should work anytime your local government needs more from you. Now ask yourself a simple question: when a local government wants to raise your property taxes, who does it have to ask? The answer is no one but itself. Not you, not your neighbors, not a single voter.” (10/27/26)
https://fee.org/articles/shoppers-get-a-vote-homeowners-should-too/
- California voters will pay price if “billionaire tax” passes
Source: USA Today
by Justin Haskins“Supporters say Prop 40 would raise $100 billion over five years, the period during which billionaires could pay it off in annual installments. Backers are selling Prop 40 as a lifeline for Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, and 90% of the revenue would go to health care. With federal cuts phasing in, Medi-Cal could need tens of billions of dollars over the next decade to stay afloat. But Prop 40 would do California far more harm than good. … unish business owners, investors and other wealthy people, and they leave for greener pastures. That’s common sense, and California has been living it for years.” (10/27/26)
- Trump Has Lost the Foreign-Policy Debate
Source: Foreign Policy
by Jonathan Monten, Jordan Tama, & Josh Buby“Many of Trump’s foreign-policy views are unpopular with U.S. foreign-policy leaders and the public. Trump has failed to sell fellow Republican foreign-policy leaders or voters on key parts of his vision. Rather than mark a turning point in America’s approach to the world, Trump’s foreign policy may not outlast Trump himself.” (10/27/26)
- Universities Now Prefer Conformity Over the Pursuit of Truth
Source: The Daily Economy
by Laura Williams“The recent scandal at Cambridge revealed how invested the academy is in pushing an ideology — even punishing dissenters who insist on telling the truth.” (10/27/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/universities-prefer-conformity-to-pursuit-of-truth/
- Trump Accounts just the beginning; young Americans need path to homeownership
Source: Fox News
by Frank Cassidy“In March of last year, my daughter Margot was born, and like any new father, I found myself thinking about the opportunities that would shape her future. I recently enrolled her in a Trump Account, President Donald Trump’s initiative to help American children begin building wealth from an early age. With a $1,000 federal contribution for eligible children born between 2025 and 2028, the program gives the next generation an opportunity to benefit from decades of investment growth. As President Trump’s former Federal Housing Administration commissioner, I also believe Trump Accounts should be just the beginning for how we can help young Americans build lasting wealth. In particular, I think we are at a pivotal point in American history to enact new policies to help generations of families achieve financial independence through owning their first home.” [editor’s note: Surprised this socialist drivel got on the Fox op-ed page; no wait, I’m really not – SAT] (10/27/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-accounts-beginning-young-americans-need-path-homeownership
- Japan’s Disputed Islands May Cause a Headache for Washington
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter“The 1951 San Francisco peace treaty formally ending the war between the Allies and Japan attempted to resolve postwar territorial disputes. In that treaty, Tokyo renounced its claim to the Kurils but also contended that the four southernmost islands were distinct from the Kuril chain and, therefore, were still part of Japan’s territory. Since the Soviet Union never signed the treaty at all, the Kuril issue remained unresolved. The dispute has continued to be a volatile, emotional topic with populations in both countries. … There is a significant risk that the United States could become entangled in the disputes involving either the Kurils or the Senkakus. That is especially true since there is a mutual defense treaty with Japan.” (10/27/26)
- Reagan & Gorby: What happened in Reykjavik didn’t stay in Reykjavik
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin Di Caro“Before 1986, a city named Reykjavík was best remembered for the ‘Match of the Century.’ International eyes fixated on Iceland’s capital for the World Chess Championship of 1972. The American prodigy Bobby Fischer dethroned the USSR’s defending champ Boris Spassky, ending a quarter-century of Soviet chess domination. Meanwhile on the global chessboard, the Cold War, with its mind-boggling defense budgets and ICBM stockpiles, continued. Fourteen years later, Reykjavík became synonymous with a different kind of U.S.-Soviet meeting with far greater stakes for humankind. The story of how President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev wound up there for two days of meetings 40 Octobers ago — and the progress they made toward a shared goal of eliminating nuclear bombs — should resonate in our dangerous age of nuclear tension and profligate weapons modernization.” (10/27/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/reagan-gorbachev-reykjavik/
- Empty Diplomas
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Cory Koedel“Over at The 74, John Arnold penned an op-ed reminding us that getting more students to graduate from high school is not necessarily a good thing. It depends on how we do it. He writes: ‘If boosting graduation is the goal, one way to get there is to lower standards.’ High school graduation rates are up across the United States, but there is mounting evidence that we are achieving these gains by lowering standards. Arnold points to international assessment data showing that U.S. students are performing worse academically, even as more of them graduate.” (10/27/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/empty-diplomas/
- Russia–Ukraine Peace Compromise Is Necessary. It Won’t Be Fair
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Snider“A compromise peace, rather than the total defeat of Russia, is not a fair outcome. Nor would the details of such a settlement be fair; Ukraine would have to make more concessions than Russia. But the peace cannot be fair because the war was never fair: It wasn’t fair that the more powerful Russian army illegally invaded Ukraine, and it wasn’t fair that the West used Ukraine as a proxy to fight against Russia, rather than settling the war in its early weeks when the opportunity arose. Despite the fact that a peace deal would not be fair, it would save Ukraine and stop the war from getting worse. And although Ukraine would have to make the more painful concessions, Russia too would need to give way on some things.” (10/27/26)
- Anti-Circumvention Laws Raise the Cost of Knowledge
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Mitch Stoltz“The vast amount of information on the open web requires researchers and journalists to adapt with new tools to make sense of it all. Checking facts, gauging public opinion, and other lines of inquiry depend on being able to analyze the overwhelming amount of material posted online every day. Unfortunately, responding to the AI industry’s voracious appetite for data, companies stewarding this public data are looking to cash in and block access to the open web. This makes the web harder to navigate, and threatens all kinds of important research. Reddit’s lawsuit against SerpAPI and Perplexity threatens to do exactly that.” (10/26/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/10/anti-circumvention-laws-raise-cost-knowledge
- Media Has Critical Role in Safeguarding Democracy [sic] This Election Season
Source: Common Dreams
by Hannah Fried“We’re just days out from November 3, and already millions of Americans are heading to the polls or dropping off their mail-in ballots, while threats to their freedom to vote continue making front-page news. … while Trump’s efforts continue to fail to pass legal muster, there are two intertwined threats built into his continued public flirtation with election interference: anti-voter actions themselves, and the confusion and chaos created by floating these plans in public. The media ecosystem has a big role to play in mitigating that second threat.” [editor’s note: Of course, that’s not the role they should be playing in an alleged free society – SAT] [additional editor’s note: In an alleged free society, the role they should be playing is whatever role they damn well please. That’s what “free” means – TLK] (10/27/26)
- The Agonistic Constitution
Source: Law & Liberty
by Johnathan O’Neill“The separation of powers points to a deeper truth about American government.” (10/27/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-agonistic-constitution/
- Autopilot Deficits
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann“Mandatory spending and surging debt interest drove federal outlays to record levels in fiscal year 2026.” (10/27/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/26/what-federal-government-spent-2026/
- How to Create the Most Destructive Financial Bubble in History: Unleash the Finance Quants
Source: Cobden Centre
by Kevin E Villani“Private market discipline is dynamic: prices adjust continuously as participants update their perceptions. Public prudential regulation is static: fixed rules define the playing field, and market participants optimize within those rules, arbitraging every gap. Once public regulation and ownership crowd out private discipline, political overseers add conflicting social objectives that further distort incentives. The 2008 crash was not a failure of free markets but the catastrophic consequence of unleashing Wall Street finance quants on a socialized housing market.” (10/27/26)
- Rogue British Agency
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“Ofcom has a low batting average in collecting its extortionate fines. This is the UK agency enforcing the UK’s Online Safety Act. Ofcom’s mission includes forcing sundry websites to require all visitors to present proof of age — essentially, to ID themselves. The Act also lets Ofcom compel services that enable encrypted messaging to provide a way to tell whether anything illegal is being said or shown in the messages. That is, compel them to render the encryption pointless.” (10/26/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/10/26/rogue-british-agency/
- DOJ Just Made the Case for Ranked-Choice Voting
Source: RealClearPolitics
by Greg Orman“On Thursday the Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit asking a judge to block certification of the results in one specific case: if [US Senator Daniel S.] Sullivan loses but would have won had [candiate Daniel J.] Sullivan’s votes gone to him. The Justice Department argues that voters will be confused under Alaska’s ranked-choice system. It says the senator’s supporters may not know how to rank the Republicans on the ballot, and some may leave the incumbent off entirely. Election law scholars are skeptical of the suit’s legal footing. The deeper problem, though, is its logic. The confusion DOJ describes is far more damaging under the voting system the administration seems to prefer than under the one Alaska uses.” (10/26/26)
- Venezuela’s opportunity for reconciliation built on “truth” and “transparency”
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Over decades of repressive government, public opinion surveys in Venezuela became increasingly rare before they stopped entirely – because citizens were too afraid to answer honestly. But after the United States’ capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January, when pollsters ask Venezuelans whom they would vote for in elections, one name has consistently topped the list: María Corina Machado. This, despite the opposition leader having been out of direct contact with her fellow citizens for close to two years, while in hiding and exile. On Sunday, Ms. Machado returned home, announcing her surprise arrival with a brief post on the social platform X: ‘I am here. With you’. Almost immediately, thousands of Venezuelans poured into the streets and highways as she attended a church service near the western border, before traveling to the capital, Caracas. Their enthusiastic reception underscored the enduring aspiration for democratic liberty and dignity after decades of political repression, economic mismanagement, and corruption.” (10/26/26)
- Gallup: Republicans Rank “Patriotism” as Top Needed Value; Democrats Rank it as “Equality”
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“Gallup released another poll showing just how divided the nation remains on core values. When asked, ‘which values the country most needs today?’, Republicans ranked ‘patriotism’ as number one while Democrats ranked ‘equality’. What is most alarming is that no shared value cracks fifty percent overall. Patriotism is only ranked in the top three shared values by 32 percent. (Freedom tops the list at only 38 percent). Gallup reports that ‘though no single value is selected by a majority of Americans, freedom (38%), patriotism (32%) and service (30%) receive the most mentions’.” [editor’s note: Does Turley think it’s a BAD thing that Americans value freedom more than those two varieties of servitude? – TLK] (10/27/26)
- Gas Attack: Blue States Have Highest Prices at the Pump
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore“Democrats can’t seem to decide whether they want higher or lower gas prices. On the one hand, they’re promising that if they win a majority in Congress, they will work to bring down prices at the pump. On the other hand, they can’t bring down prices in their own blue states. We at Unleash Prosperity recently analyzed gas and diesel prices in the 50 states. Here’s what we found: The more Democratic a state, the higher the price of gas. For each additional percentage point of the state’s vote that went to former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, gas prices are about 2 cents higher. On average, deep-blue states pay about 25 cents a gallon more for gas than deep-red states. Yes, we know correlation is not causation (umbrellas don’t cause rain), but it does suggest that relying on Democrats to lower gas prices is probably a fool’s errand.” (10/27/26)
- The ever-faster decay of “public schools”
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“Government-run, tax-funded schools are the ‘standard’ – even today, most people who home-school their children, or even who use private schools (including parochial ones) are looked on as being abnormal. While there are many problems with the GRTF schools, here is one critical challenge – which usually is not overcome. Auron MacIntyre recently shared his experiences as a schoolteacher under less than ideal conditions. Since everyone is taught to be a bean counter and be obsessed with ‘balancing,’ every standard of decency and excellence has to be sacrificed.” (10/26/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/10/26/the-ever-faster-decay-of-public-schools/
- The Press Shouldn’t Hype Trump’s Bogus Alaska Lawsuit
Source: Washington Monthly
by Joshua A Douglas“While perhaps bumpy, the election will proceed as expected. Millions of people will cast their ballots—in fact, many already have through early or mail-in voting. Thousands of election workers will uphold democracy by counting ballots fairly and accurately. Election officials will certify the results. Close races may lead to post-election lawsuits. All of that is normal. What is abnormal is the president meddling in election processes. It’s also unconstitutional and unprecedented. Let’s make sure the American people have that vital information in every headline, push notification, social media post, and news story.” (10/26/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/10/26/the-press-shouldnt-hype-trumps-bogus-alaska-lawsuit/
- A Democratic Toolkit for Using a Midterm Win to Check Trump and Force a Reckoning
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig“With a lawless administration still in power, and Trump still wielding the veto pen, it’s far from guaranteed a Democratic Congress will be able to significantly rein him in. But there are still better and worse scenarios for what Democrats can accomplish depending on how strongly the party of Trump is repudiated at the polls. Partly it depends on how much they’re willing to play hardball. But partly it depends on just how many seats they win.” (10/26/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/a-democratic-toolkit-for-using-a
- America’s Best of Times, Worst of Times: Can Adam Smith Save the Future?
Source: Independent Institute
by Richard K Vedder“We Americans are the luckiest bunch of humans to ever live. We are more affluent than ever before, even though most Americans also have much more leisure than earlier generations. Our success is demonstrated by the large numbers of immigrants trying to permanently enter our country, often illegally [sic] at great risk. Compared with a century or even a generation ago, our houses are bigger and nicer (with air conditioning and upscale kitchen appliances), our cars are more luxurious and reliable than those of earlier generations, and we have new pleasures like social media and ocean cruises to entertain and titillate us when we are not watching movies or shows on giant screens unheard of a generation ago or on technologically advanced hand-held devices.” (10/26/26)
- Guerrilla Projections and Defending Democracy in Missouri
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen“The group was looking around for an available wall. Activists with Indivisible Kansas City were targeting Jon Patterson, the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, who is seeking a seat in the state Senate in a battleground race against Democratic state Rep. Keri Ingle. They had flyers to hand out, but Krista Mann, who organized the action, had also created a slide presentation reminding voters about Patterson’s longtime support for data centers. The slides explained that Patterson personally prevented votes on transparency measures and supported a bill allowing Missouri power companies to charge ratepayers for building electricity infrastructure ‘to provide the power that we need for the data centers’. Mann hooked a portable projector into her computer and displayed the presentation on a brick facade outside a bank. They called it a ‘guerrilla projection’.” (10/27/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/10/27/guerrilla-projections-defending-democracy-in-missouri/
- Is All Politics Still Local?
Source: Liberalism.org
by James Strickland“It has often been claimed that ‘all politics is local.’ That twentieth-century phrase is sometimes said, though incorrectly, to have originated with Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, who was known to say that the outcomes of congressional elections were determined by local issues. In other words, politicians running for national office must appeal to local voters and their concerns. Political scientists and others have since cast doubt on the influence of local voters and their concerns on national policy or trends. There may be less variety in local concerns or opinions across states or cities now than ever, and party platforms across states now resemble each other more than ever.” (10/26/26)
- The Equal Presumption of Liberty to Travel and Exchange
Source: Students For Liberty
by Dr. Tom G Palmer“There are such things in the world as human rights. They rest upon no conventional foundation, but are eternal, universal and indestructible. Among these is the right of locomotion; the right of migration; the right which belongs to no particular race, but belongs to all and to all alike. It is the right you assert by staying here, and your fathers asserted by coming here. The presumption of liberty is embedded in America’s Founding documents. … The right to come and go, to converse with whom we wish, to exchange with others on mutually agreeable terms, and more are presumed rights of human beings. Any who would restrict a person from interacting voluntarily with people of another religion or language, county or country, must bear the burden of justifying such restrictions.” (10/26/26)
https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/the-equal-presumption-of-liberty-to-travel-and-exchange/
- Ending the War Is the Only Sane Option
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison“Quitting a failed war is wiser and cheaper than prolonging it. It is the war in Iran that has so destabilized and endangered other countries in the region. Ending that war won’t solve other problems in the region, but it will at least mean that the U.S. is not exacerbating them as much as it was.” (10/26/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/ending-the-war-is-the-only-sane-option
- We Don’t Just Want the Best People
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“In my immigration debate last May with Garett Jones, he presented a memorable and compelling slogan, which he attributed to Papa John’s: ‘My theory of why institutions differ is called the Papa John’s theory of institutions. Better ingredients make better pizza. Choose your ingredients wisely.’ By implication, to get the best pizza, you should only choose the best ingredients. Indeed, the original draft of the Papa John’s slogan was ‘The Better the Ingredients, the Better the Pizza,’ and its founder John Schnatter once actually said, ‘We would make the best pizza with the best ingredients even though it cost us more.’ While humanitarians might demur, how could anyone disagree with this as the most prudent way to advance a nation’s welfare? My answer: Anyone who grasps Econ 1 should abjure these slogans as utter nonsense.” (10/26/26)
- The Bryan Hyde Show, 10/27/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos drops by for our weekly visit. We talk about political theatre, fast cars and what voters should be considering before they vote.” (10/27/26)
- Dr. Jonathan Newman — Why Socialism Fails
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Dr. Jonathan Newman discusses the evolution of socialism and the roots of modern socialist movements with KPNW Radio host Bill Lundun.” (10/27/260
https://mises.org/podcasts/individual-interview/dr-jonathan-newman-why-socialism-fails
- The Corbett Report, episode 510
Source: The Corbett Report
“No, War is NOT Good For the Economy.” (10/27/26)
https://corbettreport.com/no-war-is-not-good-for-the-economy/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/27/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“The Anti-Flock Rebellion Picks Up Steam.” (10/27/26)
- Advisory Opinions, 10/27/26
Source: Advisory Opinions
“Election Shenanigans.” (10/27/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/election-shenanigans/
- Capital Record, episode 330
Source: National Review
“Is Business School Bad?” (10/27/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/is-business-school-bad/
- The Climate Realism Show, episode 222
Source: Heartland Institute
“California’s Bullet Train: Speeding Into Absurdity.” (10/26/26)
- Sal and Mark, episode 23
Source: Free Talk Live
“Sal and Mark return with Joel Valenzuela on the Pirate Chain exploit, Dash’s new shielded asset pool, and why Dash’s privacy tech just hit a new watermark.” (10/27/26)
- Pod Save America, episode 1231
Source: Crooked Media
“Let Them Eat Cheesecake.” (10/27/26)
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/26/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The PARASITIC Rupture of American Politics.” (10/26/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/27/26
Source: The New Republic
“Angry Trump Unravels as Brutal New Early Voting Data Rattles Even MAGA.” (10/27/26)
- NPR Politics Podcast, 10/27/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“The DOJ wades into elections with unprecedented cases.” (10/26/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/26/nx-s1-6017184/the-doj-wades-into-elections-with-unprecedented-cases
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/26/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Senior Saudi, Pakistani, and Turkish Officials Visit Iran, Israeli Drones Burn Gaza Tents, and More.” (10/26/26)
- Minor Issues, 10/26/26
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“We Needed Higher Oil Prices.” (10/26/26)
https://mises.org/podcasts/minor-issues/we-needed-higher-oil-prices
- Reason Roundtable, 10/26/26
Source: Reason
“California’s Wealth Tax Could Cost the State $39 Billion.” (10/26/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/10/26/californias-wealth-tax-could-cost-the-state-39-billion/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/26/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Obama Comes Out Swinging On Iran.” (10/26/26)
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 10/26/26
- Rising, 10/26/26
Source: The Hill
“‘Cheesecake Factory’: Obama trashes Trump despite numerous failures!” (10/26/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 10/26/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“The Zodiac Killer C̶a̶s̶e̶ Hoax? w/ Eddie McNamara.” (10/26/26)
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 507
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Nadine Strossen on the ongoing fight for free speech in America.” (10/26/26)